First Battles of May

By the time May starts, area high-school softball teams have a pretty good idea of what they have, and have spent enough time in game situations. So it just becomes a matter of performing when it matters.

We covered some of the big games from earlier in the week, including Phoenix's two-day sweep of Fulton to take charge in the OHSL Freedom division. Given the way this season has gone, it only fit that the Red Raiders bounced back to beat Jamesville-DeWitt on Friday and the Firebirds lost Saturday to Mexico, a 2-0 Rachel Verdilova shutout.

In other leagues, and classes, the tests continued through week's end.

Oriskany and Hamilton are still among the Class D favorites and met on the same field Wednesday afternoon. The chilly temperatures translated into ice-cold defense, with six errors from each side, but the Emerald Knights' mistakes led to Redskin runs and an 8-2 lead. Oriskany held on to prevail 12-9, in a possible playoff preview.

Move on to the weekend, and we got to see payback in two big games - one of them a romp, the other not as much.

Westhill remembered the 2-1, extra-inning defeat to Solvay from April 10. So in Friday's sequel, Tony Secreti got out of jams in each of the first three innings (the Bearcats stranded six runners), and the Warriors scored in four of six innings to gain a 7-0 lead and first place in the OHSL Liberty division.

Even if, beyond Kayley Arsenault, Westhill doesn't have a ton of power, it stays patient at the plate and aggressive on the base paths. Five different players drove in runs against the Bearcats, and Emily Mangicaro is capable of good work on the mound when Secreti gets a breather.

Saturday brought us Rome Free Academy at Liverpool. When they first played in Rome on April 7, the Warriors left a lot of runners stranded and the Black Knights prevailed 1-0, and the rematch proved just as close.

RFA got to Erin Squairs for a run in the sixth, and Liverpool promptly answered by scoring off Courtney Creedon. It stayed 1-1 because Tiffany Sampere ably replaced Squairs and shut out the Black Knights over the next two innings.

Not only did Sampere pitch well, she launched the double in the bottom of the eighth and scored the winning run on Lorraine Stoddard's single. By prevailing 2-1, Liverpool moved to two-for-two in its big-name homestand (it beat Oswego 3-0 on Wednesday), with West Genesee and Cicero-North Syracuse looming this week.

And as Sandy Creek continues to dominate the Frontier League, Class C rival Pulaski got a big 4-1 win over Onondaga, three runs in the top of the seventh inning making the difference as Ashley Snyder won her duel with Geena Brady.